Something to Tide You Over

There WILL be a new post tomorrow, but in the meantime, check out what a journalist from Philly and a blogger whose musings I've been reading lately have to say about how the roles of men and women have changed and what it's doing to our society.  If you haven't read my own post about this topic, scroll on down to the post titled "Being Set Up for Failure."  My friend BJ texted me his comment after reading it, and his male perspective was this: "It feels like most women on the dating scene want a guy to 'entertain' and 'make them laugh,' I assume because they don't feel they need them otherwise."  I thought this was a pretty pertinent comment, not only because it comes from a man, but also because it rings so true.  Men have become entertainment, play-things, arm-candy; women are told from a young age they can "do anything" and whatever they can't do, they can Google how to do it.  The more I read other perspectives and hear some of the research that is being done about how men are viewed at this juncture in our history, it seems a little bleak.

I just find it interesting how often this topic is discussed -- from an economic perspective, from a race perspective, from an educational perspective, etc. -- but how un-often I hear people saying, "Let's get our hands dirty to find, and then implement, a solution."  It reminds me of Macbeth when he says, "I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er" (3.4.135-137).  For those of you who (A) don't like, (B) don't understand, or (C) still have nightmares about Shakespeare, Macbeth basically says here that he recognizes he's committed some heinous crimes, but he knows that whether he goes back or goes forward, it's the same amount of work...so he'll just keep moving forward.  Are we doing the same thing in our society when it comes to how we view men and women?  (Particularly men?)  You can bet on the fact that this is a topic I'll be returning to at some point.

Enjoy...let me know what you think, if you feel so inclined...and check back tomorrow!